Most of us ignore Oregon State Bar activities other than turning to the disciplinary page when we receive the Oregon State Bar Bulletin. Those that are involved usually devote their time to either Section or Committee activities. The purpose of this Blog Cite is to pique your interest in what is happening in the rest of the wonderful world of the Oregon State Bar that effects the 13,000 of you Oregon State Bar members.

Our eclectic media is puzzled. What is it these (unwashed rabble) people are protesting over there at the financial district of New York City? Longshoreman- philosopher Eric Hoffer provides us with the easy answer. People who are down and out do not raise their voice when they are totally desperate and bereft. I, like millions of others have been down and out, even homeless, for the last three years. This sort of poverty demoralizes folks and they lose their self esteem. When they are down and at the bottom of the well, the only occupation is survival. People are too paranoid to join hands. The last hand they saw wanted money. Or was posting eviction notices.

Once there is a glimmer of hope, they start to look around to see if there are any fellow travelers. Even then, they are still fighting among themselves for scraps. In that posture distrust of everything and everybody runs high. Who are friends and who simply want what little you have? Because everybody is impacted when there is financial foment of the magnitude of ours, just now.

So, what is the answer to the media’s puzzlement? The answer is to be found in TARP and the progeny. TARP is the $700 billion dollar troubled asset relief program. It’s departed inspector general, Neil M. Barofsky stated the problem succinctly in his New York Times Op/Ed article dated March 30, 2011. As a rescue vehicle for the banks, it was a success, “...by any objective measure”. Its broader goal of “...protecting home values and preserving homeownership”....was a non-starter, because after that defined goal for those facing foreclosure was voted in, the goal of our leaders changed. Politics and lobbyists prevailed. Courage among our leaders vanished. And the Main Street goal v. the Wall Street goal was jettisoned. Main Street’s place in line for their troubles being relieved was Eliminated. Nada. Gone. No problem, our leaders said. Their weak-kneed, worthless substitute programs went nowhere. Banks $700 billion, People nothing.

That is the overarching problem of our nation. That is why people are waking up. Some self esteem is returning. That is why people are protesting. There are over 10 million of these folks who have lost home values and their home. Should be enough for a decent rally. And maybe even revolution. Mario Savio said it best in 1964:

“There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious—makes you so sick at heart—that you can't take part. You can't even passively take part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all.